Bengaluru, Aug 15 (IANS) The Congress-led Karnataka government has said that the decision to halt the excavation of suspected burial sites in connection with the mass grave case at Dharmasthala in Karnataka’s Mangaluru district will be made by the Special Investigation Team (SIT).

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru on Thursday, Home Minister G. Parameshwara said, “The excavation process is not never-ending. It is going to end. I will leave the decision to the SIT. They are handling the matter, and I can’t take a call sitting here. They will stop when they know that he is giving false information.”

Reacting to the SIT not finding anything even after digging at 17 locations, he added, “We haven’t fixed a time frame for the probe. When evidence was presented, we acted to verify it as demanded by the complainant. If we had not carried out the excavations, what would they have said about the government? When nothing is found, they talk differently. The appropriate course of action will be taken after receiving the report.”

On BJP’s criticism of the Congress-led government’s handling of the mass grave case, Parameshwara said that the BJP had suddenly taken an interest in the matter.

“In the beginning, they (BJP) were quiet. We will also consider their observations,” he added.

When asked about the BJP stressing that no evidence had been found in the excavation, he said, “I don’t know about that. Maybe the BJP wanted to raise the issue in the Assembly session. They might have thought that if the matter is discussed in the session, the government would respond. We will consider their opinion and take decisions accordingly.”

He also added that the SIT will decide based on the seriousness of allegations in any new complaints.

“They can judge,” Minister Parameshwara said.

When asked about filing a case with the SIT regarding the disappearance of medical student Ananya Bhat, who is said to be non-existent, Parameshwara said, “Neither I nor CM Siddaramaiah can decide this matter. How did this issue come to light? Now they are saying that the woman claiming to be Ananya Bhat’s mother was never married and never had children. How did they find out? The facts surfaced locally, and this news reached Bengaluru. I can’t comment on these developments while sitting in Vidhana Soudha.”

Meanwhile, the masked man, who is also the unknown complainant, claimed in a television interview that all burial instructions came directly from the temple’s information centre, and that the police and other authorities were never involved.

He said that a small team, including himself, buried the bodies of women in forests, along old roads, and on riverbanks.

He alleged that at burial site number 13 alone, he disposed of 70 to 80 bodies.

“One woman’s body was buried on the famous Bahubali Hills, and about 70 bodies were buried at the Nethravati bathing ghat.”

Many bodies, he claimed, bore clear signs of sexual assault and violence.

In total, he alleged that he buried about 100 bodies, most of them women, and that he also buried children and elderly victims.

He insisted that his allegations are true and that he is guiding the SIT team based on his memory, though the landscape has changed and the burial sites need to be excavated more extensively.

He also claimed that on the night of the 2012 Sowjanya murder case, he received a call and was shouted at for being on leave.

He found Sowjanya’s body the next day.

The masked man said that he has dreams of skeletons and wants to bring the truth to light.

He denied allegations of stealing gold or valuables from the dead bodies and said that after revealing the truth, he wants to return to his family.

–IANS

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